Infants generally sleep in cribs, with structure surrounding the sleeping surface to prevent the infant from rolling or falling off the sleeping surface. Frequently, the structure surrounding the sleeping surface comprises bars or poles or solid sidewalls. Various forms of cushioning material, usually called crib bumpers, may be installed to surround the sleeping surface and cover at least a portion of the bars or poles to protect the infant from bumping his or her head, and from poking arms or legs outside of the crib. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,957,464.
Toddlers and younger children usually begin to sleep on regular bedding mattresses, frequently twin-sized mattresses. The twin-sized mattresses do not fit within the crib structure. Some infant cribs are designed to be converted from a crib to a child's twin-sized bed. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,754,993; 5,715,551; 4,525,883 and 4,361,919.
While the infant crib may be convertible to a twin-sized bed frame, parents still must purchase a twin-sized mattress to be used with the converted bed frame. Parents prefer multi-use childrens' products, but the convertible cribs offered today do not come with convertible mattresses.
One convertible infant mattress is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,465 and 5,822,817. The mattress system defines a sleeping recess between upstanding walls in a configuration for use in a crib. The mattress system includes a separable accessory panel that is removed when the mattress system is installed in a crib. The accessory panel can be inserted into the recess, and the mattress system can then be inverted to provide a larger sleeping surface for a child as opposed to an infant. However, this mattress system with the accessory panel inserted still has the periphery dimensions of a crib mattress, and does not convert in size to that of a twin-size mattress.
A mattress that can be used in a crib for infants and converted to a twin-sized mattress for use on a standard bedding frame for toddlers and children continues to be sought. Moreover, crib mattresses that have upstanding sidewalls to serve as crib bumpers are desired by parents.